Georgia lawmakers cut higher education budgets during the recession that started in 2007, prompting institutions to raise tuition and fees to offset the difference. Per-student state funding fell 36 percent from 2008 to 2012 in the university system and 45 percent from 2008 to 2011 in technical colleges. Meanwhile, tuition increased in both systems by 40 percent.

This decline in Georgia’s funding for public higher education, along with the rising tuition and fees, leaves students and families with a bigger bill. Rising costs hurt low-income students the most, even as they probably stand to gain the most from postsecondary education.